Two dinners and a battlefield walk.

A mix of three events on this blog entry. Met Paul & Kate for Sunday dinner last week, we went to the White Lion in Dunstable & very good it was too.
Paul, Kate came round here first so we drove there in one car which made sense. Paul ,Kate & I had roast beef with all the trimmings and Tara had a beetroot & feta salad, wasn't a huge choice for Tara but they could supply wheat free bread for her which was good. All the food was well cooked and prepared, I had a very nice pint of London Pride, others having soft drinks. All too full to do a pud justice I had coffee, Kate a Latte, Paul tea & Tara also had a Latte after that we called it a day there & came home. Good to see Paul & Kate, they told us about the bothy they are staying in over New Year on Exmoor....a very different NY but I'd prefer somewhere with guaranteed warmth!  We must meet up again soon. No photos I'm afraid, I did take some on my old Blackberry but it won't download them onto the PC!
Tara & I had dinner at the Bridgewater Arms in Little Gaddesen yesterday evening. It's all very Christmassy here with a real log fire an' all! Quite a snug pub though our window table could have done with being a bit warmer, it's a Greene King house that is waitress service in the restaurant. Had a pint of London Glory. Another relatively light amber coloured ale,4.1% in strength, I was driving so just the one, Tara having a Bacardi and coke.
I had a Wagyu burger. It was very good but no better than other burgers I've had to be honest, don't really know what all the fuss is  about this Jap Wagyu beef is this is anything to go by. Tara had Chilli Salmon fillet with salad odds and sods. Mains were a goodly size so didn't really have room for pud so we  knocked it on the head then. Got home & watched a couple of films. I'd recorded 'Starter for ten'  starring James McAvoy (produced by Tom Hanks no less), a film about a student getting onto the University Challenge team and the ups and downs of   whichever bird he fancied. I thought it was a jolly little film, with a great camo by Mark Gatiss as Bamber Gascoigne however Tara fell asleep. Wouldn't watch it again but it was a reasonable film. We then watched 'Now you see me' about some magicians who pull off a bank robbery and annoy Michael Caine. I wasn't so keen on this one but Memsahib thought it the better of the two.
Generally read before going to sleep & at present reading 'Azincourt' by Bernard Cornwell, I  haven't read any of his books before & am enjoying this one set in medieval times, Henry V and all that.


That leads me to days jaunt which was a very interesting  guided walk around Berkhamsted Castle to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the siege of the castle by the French King Louis in 1216. It's just about to date as to when the siege happened though some allowance must be made for the use of the Julian calendar in those days before it was changed in the 16th century to the Gregorian calendar. About twenty people turned up in freezing conditions to have a very lively and informative talk by Julian Humphrys the Battlefields Trust Development Officer.
Berkhamsted Castle is somewhere that we have known for years having had picnics and walks round it many times when the boys were younger, it's a very ruinous affair now (that's nothing to do with our picnics I should add!) but there is still just enough left to get a flavour of what an imposing castle it would have once been. The faced masonry of the walls has long been robbed away in part to build a manor house nearby so all that's left is the inner core of flint and rubble, also the coming of the railways in the 1830's chopped off the original main gateway into the castle. It had two ditches ( moats by another name I think) which was rare in castle terms. The French king laid siege to it after taking both Rochester and Hertford castles. He eventually ran out of steam when the rebellious English barons who had initially joined him went back to the Royalist side. It was about an hour and a half walk  though mainly it was standing listening,  also had a chance to meet Laurence again who I hadn't seen for ages. I may well renew my membership of the Battlefields Trust after this as I enjoyed it so much, follow this link to find out more about them:   http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/



Smug git drinking beer.

Chilli salmon fillet. Tara's choice.

Wagyu burger. My choice.

A roaring fire on a cold winters night.

                                                                                                            

 

 

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Footie & Brewdog!?

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Footie & Brewdog!?: So here's the thing. I'm staying at a very nice hotel in Norfolk I don't usually stay at because it's too dear. £150 B&B...

Footie & Brewdog!?

So here's the thing. I'm staying at a very nice hotel in Norfolk I don't usually stay at because it's too dear. £150 B&B in the season but greatly reduced in November! I've done the usual miles & bloody miles driving and am now knackered & can't be arsed to go into the restaurant so have elected to eat in the bar. It's a golf course and hotel that I'm staying in so of course on the TV in the bar is on sport.
 I have the pleasure of watching the Spurs v Monaco Champions League game ( I've just had to google that as I haven't a clue what the game is)  and I'd like to tell you that after all these years I've finally seen the light & can see the point of footie................I'd like to  tell you that but it would be a lie, and what's more you know it!
Thank Buddha I've brought my laptop along so I can do this blog or go on Face Book etc.
Beer tonight is Wherry, a pint known to me in this part of the world, a Woodfordes  Brewery beer, at 3.8% a good Tuesday night beer, my usual preference of a nice citrus tang to it & joy of joys  Brewdog has made it to Norfolk!
I was first introduced  to the beautiful Brewdog range  of craft beers by my good buddy Andrew. The beer  comes all the way from Scotland in various forms, the only beer here is Punk IPA, a bit poky at 5.6%  but then its a small bottle. Strangely a number of friends who like a beer have tried Brewdog, at my insistence, & not really liked it. I'm amazed! I have eaten tonight as well! A very good steak, mushroom and ale pie  with mash and veg........forgot I'd had similar last night  but what the hell!
Not a clue what's happening with the footie  which is as you'd expect. Another bottle of Brewdog and I'll call it a day I think. Night all!

Pint of Wherry.

Brewdog Punk IPA

Delicious steak, mushroom and ale pie.

  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Sunday lunch.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Sunday lunch.: Gary & Ellie invited us over for lunch on Sunday which was a delight. We got there about 2pm,Tara driving Gary's car that had been i...

Sunday lunch.

Gary & Ellie invited us over for lunch on Sunday which was a delight. We got there about 2pm,Tara driving Gary's car that had been in for a service in Dunstable. The cooking had just been started by Gary, & Ellie sorted out our drinks. It was a veg curry for Tara & chicken curry for us which was very good indeed, quite hot enough for Ellie & I but probably mild for Gary!
It was a very relaxing afternoon, their house is full of interesting little knick knacks and has a friendly warm feeling to it made by Gary & Ellie. They are obviously very happy and happy where they are as well.
As a Mum & Dad this is heart warming to see, we love them both and always enjoy their company, I don't believe in any sort of god but I do believe in the family and Gary & Ellie are a perfect example of what it means to me. Our turn next!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birmingham. Beer,pizza,a play and a museum.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Birmingham. Beer,pizza,a play and a museum.: Had a lovely night away with the Memsahib this week. Birmingham? An odd choice I hear you say, well no, actually a very good choice. It'...

Birmingham. Beer,pizza,a play and a museum.

Had a lovely night away with the Memsahib this week. Birmingham? An odd choice I hear you say, well no, actually a very good choice. It's a city that is very easy to get around (the trams are brilliant!) full of friendly people , the buildings, both old and new are very interesting and speak volumes of how well modern architecture can be used, there's also lots to see & do here.
Bad start though, the journey  up to Birmingham was complete arse  thanks to both the M1 & M6 having hold ups.
Got to the hotel, The Hampton by Hilton which was very nice, booked through Gary's family rate, freshened up and jumped on a tram (stopped just behind our hotel) into central Birmingham. Had a walk around and went to what must be the Real Ale Mecca  of the area The Wellington on Bennetts Hill. Twenty seven regular hand pump beers! On entering we found not only that we were the youngest customers in there but part from a bar maid Tara was the only girl!
Beers I sampled were: Citra from Oakham Brewery,4.2% and to be honest very light in colour but very fresh and citrusy, next was Pig on the wall, a beer from Black Country Ales and 4.3%, a mid coloured beer full of roasted malt tastes and finally Fireside, also a Black Country Ales beer and at 5% the strongest of the selection I tried, this was more an amber colour with a nice bitter finish. Tara drank Bacardi & Coke, not beer. From here we made our way to 'Ask,' the pizza restaurant where we knew that not only did Tara have more choice but a whole menu to chose from! This is something of a rarity.

Italian Twinkle in Ask.

Peroni also in Ask.

Memsahib sending photo via WhatsApp to the boys.

Side of Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham Town Hall

Birmingham by night!

Victorian urinal, Vyse St, Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter. 

Jewellery Museum.

Jewellery Museum.

Us in The Wellington.

Us in Ask.

With a Peroni for me and an 'Italian twinkle' for Tara which is Prosecco with elderflower cordial, vodka and a twist of lemon we tucked into our pizzas which were really good and after off we went toward The Rep theatre to see 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Sadly this was a real let down, the main reason was the appalling sound quality, it's quite a big auditorium  & we were about half way back, good view but struggled to hear clearly. It's a very wordy play so you need to hear it all! We elected to bail out of this at the interval and retired to the hotel via a walk around some of the main buildings in Birmingham and the tram. Nightcap at the hotel and bed.
Well fed on a buffet style breakfast next morning we were off to the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter & what a great find it was. Another short tram ride and a walk along a street which boasts a Victorian urinal no less, to find the museum. There's a couple of galleries to view but the main museum is via a guided tour through the old jewellery factory of Smith and Pepper. A factory which just shut its doors in the early 1980's  and was touched little since, Birmingham Council renovated the interiors to how they were when the factory closed  so you have pretty well a time machine of the whole business which was started in the 1880's. Fascinating! There is a few small quirky museums in Birmingham, there're probably worth a visit as well.
That was about it for our trip. Got back to the car and headed home, a great trip!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Amnesty Day!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Amnesty Day!: I was in Tesco in Luton Road Dunstable today as the 2 minutes silence approached. At about 10.50am a Tesco idiot announced there would be 2 ...

Amnesty Day!

I was in Tesco in Luton Road Dunstable today as the 2 minutes silence approached. At about 10.50am a Tesco idiot announced there would be 2 minutes silence for Amnesty day!! The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month has and always be Armistice Day.
At 11am a barely audible  announcement came over that now was the time. A very half arsed silence then took place. Most Tesco staff stopped and as far as I could see nothing was going through the tills. Some people stopped  many didn't and to my surprise alot who didn't stop appeared to be at least a generation nearer to WW2 than I. It was truly one of the worst 2 minutes silence's I have witnessed. Frankly I wish Tesco hadn't bothered, it was an embarrassment.
There's a point to argue about, should everyone observe the 2 minutes silence? Maybe something of what was being fought for ,particularly in WW2, was a right to free speech and thought, not somewhere where you must observe certain things. 
Harry Patch  the last Tommy from WW1 thought it was all theatre and show on the 11th. His personal Remembrance Day  was a day in September when he was wounded and two close friends killed whilst manning their Lewis gun in the trenches.
It will obviously diminish in thought and in society as the years go on and we lose all the veterans from both world wars, though the March Past at the Cenotaph in London is as big as it ever has been with other organisations joining it. I did think with all the WW1 centenary commemoration's it may have meant alittle more today. 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Gig.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: The Gig.: To Shepherds Bush today with Kevin & Paul to see the great 'Saxon' in concert! Sadly Tara didn't come with us as she was unw...

The Gig.

To Shepherds Bush today with Kevin & Paul to see the great 'Saxon' in concert! Sadly Tara didn't come with us as she was unwell. A terrible shame and it wasn't right without her :(
Met Paul at the Defectors Weld pub for eats first. Kevin & I arrived first & got chatting to a nice fella from Massachusetts called Charles. Strangely enough we got talking to him about beer, Kev & I both had a pint of Young's bitter which was good but a bit light, Charles was drinking a darker ale & I asked him which it was, (Battersea Rye 4.5% a good tawny brown colour with a smoky after taste) . Conversation thus struck up we chatted for a while, Paul joined us and we ordered food  all of us going for fish & chips, unfortunately there was only one portion left & rather than arm wrestle for it Kev had ribs and I had steak pie with mash and greens. it was very tasty!
The Shepherds Bush Empire doors were opened half an hour early tonight possibly because the gig was a sell out, I'd found out Girlschool would hit the stage at 7pm, the venue was only a short walk from the pub so we were there in plenty of time. 
It's about 35 years since I've seen 'Girlschool' & I have to say they did not disappoint, they were absolutely brilliant  & also had good banter with the crowd. They actually seem like a really nice bunch but were not on half as long as I think they should have been! They played a good mix of old barnstormers like 'Race with the devil' & newer tracks off their latest album like 'Come the Revolution' & 'Take it like a band,' everyone a gem & played with mucho gusto. Great stuff!
Second support was 'Fastway' featuring Fast Eddie Clarke formerly of Motorhead, they were good but some of their tracks were abit pedestrian, abit samey, the rockers they played were good but I can't really understand why they were above 'Girlschool' in the billing.  
I should say it was definitely a sold out gig, we'd got unreserved seating in the balcony & whilst we certainly weren't late it was filling up fast.
To the main act then which was 'Saxon' and of course they were great as you'd expect, they played for about two hours so very good value as well. The Empire accommodates 2000 people, small by some standards and all the better for that. Plenty of banter from Biff Byford & of course plenty of singing from us. The title track of their latest album 'Battering Ram' got us underway with the great singalong tracks of 'Strong arm of the law,' Never surrender' & of course 'Wheels of steel' following on They played two encores the first one being rather special as Fast Eddie came back out and together they played 'Ace of Spades' as a tribute to Lemmy who both 'Saxon' & 'Girlschool' should have supported last year before his demise they then played the ever popular 747 (Strangers in the night).
Paul left just as the encore started to make sure he got his train back OK, we knew our trains were OK so stayed to the end, as the final chords of 'Princess of the night' finished and the band bid us farewell, Kev & I joyously picked up our ears and headed home.
Another great gig & I will happily see them again! I took afew photos with varying results, some of the effects of not using a flash were quite good so I offer a selection here, also a set list of what the bands played.
Girlschool.  Demolition Boys/ Hit & Run/ Come the Revolution/ Take it like a band/ Future Flash/ Watch your step/ Race with the devil/ Emergency.
Fastway.   Misunderstood/ All fired up/ Another Day/ Deliver me/ Telephone/ Heft/ Feel me, touch me / Easy Livin'.
Saxon. Battering Ram/ Let me feel your power/ Sacrifice/ Solid ball of rock/ Never surrender/ Crusader/ Stand up & be counted/ The Devils footprint/ Strong arm of the law/ Killing ground/ The eagle has landed/ Queen of hearts/ And the bands played on/ Dallas 1pm/ Wheels of steel.
First encore. Ace of Spades/ 747(strangers in the night) Second encore.  Denim & leather/ Princess of the night.

My dinner of steak pie, mash and greens.

Paul and his dinner of fish and chips.



Kevin and his dinner of Spare ribs.

Girlschool take to the stage.

Girlschool  Jackie Chambers, Kim McAuliffe, Enid Williams with Denise Dufort at the back on drums. 

Kim McAuliffe  sings!

Fastway

Fast Eddie Clarke of Fastway

Saxon

Three old headbangers waiting for the next act!

 

 

Encore of 'Ace of Spades' with Fast Eddie back out on stage.

Final farewell!

 

Paul Quinn lead guitar with Saxon.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Remembrance.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Remembrance.: Armistice Day, Remembrance Sunday are both rapidly approaching. Strangely more is being made of remembering the world wars now than ever it ...

Remembrance.

Armistice Day, Remembrance Sunday are both rapidly approaching. Strangely more is being made of remembering the world wars now than ever it seems. I know there are all the World War One  100th anniversary commemorations and I suppose the poor sods still getting killed aboard has given it a new focus.
Interesting to see that more civilian organisations take part in the Remembrance Sunday march past at the Cenotaph and rightly so, they too bore the brunt of  losing loved ones not to mention homes and livelihoods etc.
A chap I know has a Flickr site called 'The home fallen of the Great War' where he and others (including me) photograph Commonwealth Wargraves  where they are situated in UK graveyards and cemeteries and add them to this site, personally I also like to do some research into the person with varying degrees of success, if you want to have a look at it follow this:  https://www.flickr.com/groups/homefallen/  it's very interesting, further to this I visited the cemetery in Hatfield Road in St Albans recently, they have about 90 WW1 graves mainly soldiers who died of wounds having been transferred back to Blighty to Napsbury Hospital  in St Albans ( a former 'lunatic asylum' cleared to take war wounded) .
The first soldier to be buried here was an Aussie, 4442 Private William Martin Gillin 22nd Bn Australian Imperial Force. He was only 21 years old and from Melbourne ,Australia, he'd been a labourer in civilian life. He enlisted on 2nd February 1916 and arrived in France on 29th March 1916. He was probably wounded and evacuated during the battalions part in the Somme action at Pozieres, a battle that cost them 683 killed and wounded. His fate was to be severely wounded in the upper left thigh causing a hemorrhage, his leg was amputated  but he died of shock and hemorrhage. He was buried with full military honours  with a Royal Artillery gun carriage from Luton and troops from the Army Veterinary Corps and Royal Flying Corps doing the final honours. He was buried on 22nd August 1916. In 1918 an area called 'Soldiers Corner' was designated in the cemetery and he was exhumed to be reburied in this area, though an error was made on his headstone as it now reads that he died in 1918.
The cross of sacrifice that stands in this and many other cemeteries throughout the UK and abroad came about when Edwin Lutyen, Herbert Baker (both architects) and Charles Aitken Director of the Tate Gallery were brought in  to design memorials to the 'Glorious  Dead' of the Great War. Lutyen wanted a more abstract symbol rather than a cross, the others argued that most of the dead would have been Christian so a cross was appropriate. This was probably true but there would have been an awful lot who weren't Christian, the thousands from the Indian Army for instance and in London The Royal Fusiliers had three battalions made up of Jewish volunteers, it wasn't their symbol their!
All the graves are the same regardless of rank, regiment or creed, next of kin were allowed to have a short inscription added though it seems most do not, its just name, rank, number, regiment, age if known and date of death.
They are melancholy places really and if you start to look closely at the ages  you cannot help but feel sad, particularly as our boys are similar in age, but they do hold a morbid fascination for me. I haven't visited any of the really big Commonwealth Wargrave cemeteries in France or Flanders though I'd like to. There's a cemetery near La Boiselle in France near where my Grandads 2/Middlesex went over the top on 1st July 1916, they lost 260 men mostly buried in one cemetery, that's one I'd like to visit as my Grandad must have known some of the soldiers buried there.
Not all the troops died of wounds sustained at the front, there are two burials here of pilots in the Royal Flying Corps who died due to accidents. Lieut ER Mackay DCM was killed in mid air when his aircraft collided with another. An eye witness at the coroners enquiry said he'd seen seven or eight aircraft in the air and two came close together and collided dropping like a stone a verdict of Death by misadventure was returned.
Another, 2nd Lieut James Lionel Andrews was executing a number of stunts in the air and appeared to not be able to pull out of one of them and crashed into the ground. He was 31 years old and left a widow and two children, another death be misadventure verdict returned.
There's a grave I found in another cemetery which flies in the face of the 'Glorious Dead.'  he'd only been in the army afew months and was discharged, his records stating that he was 'Congenitally unsuited to being a soldier, he threatened to bayonet a sergeant,' yet when he died a few months later he was afforded  a war grave! They'll always be 'anomalies' I suppose.
They are interesting places to wander round and all the more interesting to find out just a little about the individuals but there is and always will be a great sadness to these places.

Cross of Sacrifice  next to Soldiers Corner in Hatfield Road, St Albans.

View  of Soldiers Corner.

Information sign installed by the CWGC

Close up of the inscription on the Cross of Sacrifice.



Lieut ER Mackay DCM killed in a mid air accident.

2nd Lieut LJ Andrews also killed in an aircraft accident.

    

4442 Pte WM Gillin 22/AIF. First war dead to be buried in the cemetery.




































































       


















  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A long drive and a flat tyre.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A long drive and a flat tyre.: Up in the wilds of North Wales and Shropshire again , first stop was Porthmadog, a scenic if long drive there but that's what I do! Hour...

A long drive and a flat tyre.

Up in the wilds of North Wales and Shropshire again , first stop was Porthmadog, a scenic if long drive there but that's what I do! Hour or so in the account, returned to the car to find the rear offside tyre flatter than a flat thing from Flatown. Bugger!
Luckily it was a nice day & I was parked in an easy place to change the tyre, put me back of course, then alot of road works on the route out & eventually got to my next appointment that was miles away in Ludlow, another very pretty town that I haven't had a chance to look round properly.
However a decent stop over to look forward to at The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury. A pint of the excellent 'Butty Bach' from the Wye Valley brewery ( 4.5% of amber loveliness) helped to do my emails, couldn't really be bothered to move so stayed in the bar and had dinner there, a nice sirloin steak , cooked rare, with  tomato, mushroom,chips and salad. Very nice. Two more 'Butty Bach's' later I retired. Lets do it all again tomorrow! I know because I did!

Dinner.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Buckingham

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Buckingham: Very pleasant night away with the Memsahib in Buckingham last night, stayed at the White Hart which is an 18th century coaching inn. Bit of ...

Buckingham

Very pleasant night away with the Memsahib in Buckingham last night, stayed at the White Hart which is an 18th century coaching inn. Bit of a trial to get to our room as it was on the second floor and being an old building  the floors were rather uneven & the stairs shall we say were quirky!
An interesting beer on tonight called Frankenstein by Greene King. It's one of their seasonal specials  along the lines of a Hoegaarden, a cloudy beer with a hint of coriander with a nice citrus after taste, it was very nice and my tipple of the evening and at 4.2% not too pokey! Tara had her fave of bitter shandy (with IPA) and a Baileys later on.
Dinner was good and for a change a little more choice for Tara. That is to say  two items to choose from rather than one!  For starters Tara had nachos and I had chicken strips. For  mains Tara had a five veg super salad with a baked camembert  and I had good old fish & chips (fish was cod) with mushy peas of course!
Tara had ice cream , the only choice of pud she could have & I had another beer mmm.
Time went all too quickly, Tara & I have always enjoyed each others company & always find lots to talk about, it's just how it should be. It was a very good mini break , always enjoy time away with the Memsahib. Here's' to the next time!

Tara with our beers.

Bitter shandy with a pint of Frankenstein in front.4.2% of loveliness.

Fish and chips, an English classic and very good.

Five veg super salad and baked camembert. Yum!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A Military Medal on the Somme, 23rd October 1916.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A Military Medal on the Somme, 23rd October 1916.: On the 23rd October 1916 my Grandad's battalion (2nd Bn The Middlesex Regiment) was in the vanguard on an attack at 'Zenith Trench&#...

A Military Medal on the Somme, 23rd October 1916.

On the 23rd October 1916 my Grandad's battalion (2nd Bn The Middlesex Regiment) was in the vanguard on an attack at 'Zenith Trench' near Les Boeufs during the battle of the Somme which had been raging since the 1st July.It was here where I believe he won his Military Medal for bravery entitling him to use the letters 'MM' after his name. Not that he ever did. In fact because of the depression of the 1920's he had to pawn all his medals, four in total, he was never to see them again, but that story for another blog I think.
The 2/Middlesex had endured a terrible mauling on the first day of the Somme and didn't move too far from that sector, in late October they marched up through Trones Wood and on the 22nd were in 'Spectrum Trench' waiting for the off. From the 21st the Germans had endured a heavy artillery barrage  and at 2.30pm on the 23rd the 2/Middlesex and 2/Scottish Rifles of the 23rd Brigade followed behind a  creeping artillery barrage onto Zenith trench. There was fierce hand to hand fighting but the trench was taken , by 3.45pm both battalions were through Zenith and 400 yards beyond. The brigade to the left of the 2/Middlesex (the 25th brigade) failed to get as far as the 23rd exposing the Middlesex flank so defences had to be thrown up at the junction of Gusty and Spectrum trenches as well. Here for the next four days they suffered heavy German artillery bombardment and counter attacks. My Grandad told me, in a brief conversation about his MM that they were in German trenches and using the Germans own bombs against them. They were to retire on the night of the 27th.
 The diary describes it thus:
'Oct 23rd. The attack was initially successful accept that the left flank of the Battn was left exposed (owing to failure in the next Brigade) and a new line was established about 200 yards beyond the old hostile front line. The Brigadier complimented the Battn on its success. Casualties- Officers killed 2/Lieut FO Kemp, 2/Lieut LW Smith,2/Lieut G Hall. Officers wounded 2/Lieut HC Hunt MC, 2/Lieut KLN McCulluch,2/Lieut AL St John-Jones. Other Ranks killed 62,wounded 117,missing 47.Total 226.
Oct 24th to 27th.  The positon gained was strengthened and consolidated. Further casualties Capt TC Kidner, RAMC killed, 2/Lieut H Hess, 2/Lieut E Evans wounded. On the night of 27th the Battn was withdrawn to camp near Montauban arriving in the early hours of the 28th.'

The Battalion reached the camp exhausted after such an ordeal they spent the day cleaning up and at noon on 29th marched to Mansell Camp then Meaulte on the 30th.
It is very difficult to ascertain how many bravery medals were awarded for this action but on the 3rd December after church parade the battalion was drawn up for the 8th Division commander Major General Sir Havelock Hudson KCB,CIE to present gallantry medal ribbons, amongst them my Grandad. The General presented another 6 MM ribbons, 1 Military Cross and 1 Distinguished Conduct Medal on this parade. The actual medals followed later.
Grandad's award was published in the London Gazette of 6th Jan 1917. All honours and bravery awards have been published in this way right up to today.
There is a very good book by Howard Williamson I have consulted in trying to pin down when my Grandad got his MM,  there's three volumes all quite weighty tomes, about all medals and awards from the First World War. He is an undoubted expert in this field & has worked out that MM's that appeared in the London Gazette on 6/1/17 were for actions around October 1916 in this area, so the evidence all points to this being where and when Grandad won his MM.
As a slight aside, when he went on leave & told his family, his younger brother scoffed, saying he'll have an MM in six months, about six months later S15174 Private Arthur Edward Gowers 3rd Bn The Rifle Brigade  was awarded an MM!!
Regarding the war diary and it's language, it is a great irritation to me even 100 years on that those who gave the so called 'ultimate sacrifice' are still divided by class, the officers being named Other Ranks not. Whys should a captains name be any more worthy than a corporal?

Battalion war diary from 20th 31st Oct 1016.

Battalion diary detailing parade on 3rd Dec 1916 for gallantry medal ribbon awards by GOC 8th Division. 

My Grandads Military Medal, British War Medal & Victory Medal. (1914 Star missing)

An idiots guide to an Idiot: More travels round Kent and Sussex.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: More travels round Kent and Sussex.: As well as Spike Milligan's grave the church of St Thomas in Winchelsea is quite interesting. There are three tombs thought to be member...